The Love Before the Boy Who Lived
by padfoot356
Summary: James is madly in love with Lily and is willing to do whatever it takes to win her heart. updated!
1. chapter 1

Disclaimer- Everything that you do not recognize is mine and I own none of these characters besides Ava and Grace; otherwise it is all property of J.K. Rowling, the inspiration among us__

_"It's here my lord."_

_"That will be all, Malfoy."_

_A shady figure moved across the floor to what seemed to be a glass object. He hastily peered into it as if what he saw would not be there for long._

_The image inside was disturbing, a cloaked figure killing people by the hundreds, with followers in masks killing others and cheering their leader on, death and destruction is evident throughout the frightening scene. A large house is then shown; next a woman holding on tightly to her child, the same disturbing figure's spell fails when he tries to kill the child, weakening his own power._

_" I see power, lots of power!" he said with an evil laugh, the kind that would make even the bravest hero shudder, "Wait, there's a child, and a woman, my power is no longer working. NO! Who is the woman, Malfoy?! WHO IS SHE?!"_

_"If I'm not mistaken that woman is Miss Lily Evans. The young boy would be her future son," Malfoy said as he searched his master's face for approval._

_"She must be killed, so her unborn child will never have the chance to strip me of my powers," Finished Lord Voldermort as he left the dark, shaded room._

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ 

"There's something that I can't quite explain  
I'm so in love with you  
You'll never take that away  
And if I've said a hundred times before  
Expect a thousand more  
You'll never take that away

Well expect me to be  
Calling you to see  
If you're okay when I'm not around,  
Asking if you love me  
I love the way you make it sound  
Calling you to see  
Do I try too hard to make you smile,  
To make us smile..."

-Blue October "Calling You"

"Only 3 more inches," Lily Evans said to herself as she rolled up her lengthy parchment, "I'll have to be sure to thank Professor Cranen for this wonderfully long assignment." 

_*tap, tap, tap*_

"What is that?" she muttered as she craned her neck to look out the window in her spacious bedroom. "JAMES!!!" She flung the window open to reveal a rather charming boy hovering on a broom outside. "Get inside before the muggles see you! What would the ministry do if they found out about this?!" 

Lily wasn't your average 16- year- old teenager, and neither was the new occupant of her room, she was a witch, he a wizard, and both students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Oh, Lily, you worry too much, besides, I have come here for a very important reason. You might say that I'm on a mission," James smirked.

"And this mission would be?"

"Lily Marie Evans, would you do me the honour of going out with me once we get back to school?"

Lily rolled her eyes and turned away from him. She was used to this kind of behavior from James. "Why can't he just understand that I only see him as a friend?" she thought to herself. 

"James", she said as she turned around to see a tall, handsome boy with untidy raven coloured hair, radiant green eyes, and a face that always wore a quirky, lopsided grin, "do me a favour and think back to, oh, I dunno, a month ago."

"Anything for you my sweet," He said dreamily. 

"Do you remember when you asked me that same question?"

"Yes." He said slowly. 

"Well let's just say my answer to that applies in this case as well." Her answer, of course, had been no, and she stuck to her promise. No dating unless she was sure it seemed the right thing. And this, in her opinion, didn't seem right, or at least not yet.

"Alright then, if you're sure, but I'll never give up on you Lily Evans. Never." Said James, a little disappointed, but he was used to Lily's rejection by now.

"Well it's late, and I have to get up early tomorrow to finish my homework, I'll see you on the train." She yawned. 

"Until then my fair Lily." And with that he climbed back though the window, mounted his still hovering broom, and flew into the dark, London sky.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ 

"Lily!!! LILY!!!"

A pretty red head turned around at the calling of her voice, her stunning green eyes scanned the busy crowd at Platform 9 3/4 until they stopped at a tall brunette with a cute sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of her nose waving furiously in her direction.

"Ava!" Lily called back with equal excitement. She hadn't seen Ava, one of her best friends from school, since the beginning of summer holidays. "It's so good to see you!" she squealed as she wrapped Ava into a big hug.

"I've missed you so much!" Ava said with delight. "AH! There's Grace!" With that she pointed though the crowd to an attractive blonde with clear blue eyes giving off a "deer in the headlights" look. She finally saw her two best friends and ran over to them, collecting them together with one of her signature hugs.

"This is so exciting," squealed Grace, the most optimistic of the three, "we're finally 6th years!"

"How can you be so excited?" moaned Ava, "the only thing that is making me not miss our holidays is the small hope of a cute exchange student. Oooo. I can see him now. A gorgeous brunette with piercing blue eyes, maybe even in a band." She added the last as an afterthought.

"MmmHmm," Lily nodded her head in agreement.

"I never knew you thought that way about me Ava." A voice behind them said. The owner a tall, brown, shaggy haired, piercing blue eyed boy, was strikingly similar to Ava's description.

"You never change, do you, Sirius?" said Grace, rolling her eyes.

"How are you my dear Lily flower?" said James, coming into focus behind Sirius.

"And I see you haven't either," Grace added.

"I'm fine thank you. Where are Remus and Peter?" questioned Lily. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, the self-named Marauders, known for their all too funny pranks, were rarely found by themselves, they were usually planning something together. Lily always liked how they stuck by each other, no matter what. 

"Right here," Remus called a few feet behind the group, dragging along a Hogwarts trunk and an apprehensive looking Peter. Remus was towering above the others and handsome, with dirty blonde hair, and bright green eyes, while Peter was almost the opposite, barring a short, chubby structure and brown hair. It was well- known fact that his best feature was his pretty brown eyes. 

"Let's find a compartment shall we lads," began Remus

"Eh hmm" 

"Oh, sorry, and ladies" he hastily added," Before they all fill up."

After quite a bit of searching the 7 found themselves at the back of the train at the last empty compartment.

"I told you we should have started at the back, but noo, no one ever listens to little ole Sirius," Whined the marauder.

"Oh stop complaining and find a seat, you're holding up the line!" Lily teased jokingly. Although it was true, the other 6 were all crammed in the narrow hall outside the sliding doors.

"Having a party in the hall are we?" sneered a cold voice, "since I am a prefect I have the right to take away house points. 5 points from Gryffindor for holding up the hallway, it is a fire hazard after all."

"Keep talking and the only fire here will be from the smoke coming out of  your head, with all that grease in your hair I'm sure it will go up in flames quite speedily, thanks for making my job easier, Malfoy" said James, looking at Luscious Malfoy with disgust. "You are forgetting that I am also a prefect and I'm giving 10 points to Gryffindor, for well, being Gryffindor."

"And if you have a problem with that Malfoy you can talk to me." Finished Sirius, stepping forward, as he did he revealed an annoyed Lily. 

"Oh hello Lily, I didn't see you there, awfully crowded in here isn't it, might I invite you to my spacious compartment?"

At this James was steaming.

"Bugger off Malfoy, go back to wherever it was u came from, contrary to popular belief you AREN'T welcome here." Spoke up Ava, noticing James, and not waning there to be a fight.

"Luscious, please." Lily said, even though she thought very little of Malfoy she believed in being nice to everyone, a quality that made her quite well liked at Hogwarts.

"Fine" Luscious sneered and stormed out of the already filled compartment. 

"I HATE him," said James, kicking his foot a little too hardly at one of the benches.

"Why, because his crush on Lily is almost as big as yours?" teased Remus.

James flushed and sat down. He mumbled something that no one quite understood. A few games of exploding snap and many consumed chocolate frogs later; the train came to a smooth stop at Hogsmead, the wizard village, and the exit for the Hogwarts students. A subtle "Firs' years, firs' years this way." Could be heard form outside.

"Well we might as well go now," said Sirius, leaving his belongings on the train and motioning for the others to follow him as he exited. As the Maudereds passes the other groups, Lily, Ava, and Grace noticed a sudden breakout of whispering and giggling. The boys were rather popular for their good looks, let alone their sense of humor. Lily sighed, "This year will be the same as the rest," she thought.

James, who was walking towards the front with Remus, stopped and let the others pass by him, he began walking again as Lily came near.

"So are you excited?" he asked

"About what?" she questioned

"Being prefects together, being back at Hogwarts." He answered, "The quiddich." He added.

Lily laughed softly, "You and your quiddich."

James grinned from ear to ear.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ 

"I'd like to welcome you all back to Hogwarts, and for you first years I give a warm welcome, I hope you enjoy yourself for the next 7 years. Before we eat I have a few announcements to make,"

A loud sigh could be heard from Sirius at the Gryffindor table, he loved to eat.

"And I know you especially Mr. Black should listen carefully" Professor Dumbledore eyed him and smiled warmly," I'd like to remind you all not to wander in the forbidden forest, as to the contents are very questionable and most of all dangerous, a new list of forbidden objects at the school has been complied and is now posted on the door to Mr. Filch's office for those who would like to view it. And last but not least we will be hosting a Halloween Ball for 3rd years and up."

Conversation broke out throughout the great hall. "Ooh!" Grace squealed, "I love dances!"

"Now I would like you all to join me in the singing of the school song." Dumbledore finished.

The Marauders smiled to each other, they always liked singing the song because they always did it their own way, and most importantly, got away with it.

"...Hogwarts Hogwarts Hoggy Warty Hogwarts  
Teach us something please  
Whether we be old and bald or young with scabby knees  
Our heads could do with filling with some interesting stuff  
For now they're bare and full of air  
Dead flies and bits of fluff  
So teach us things worth knowing  
Bring back what we've forgot  
Just do your best we'll do the rest and learn until our brains all rot..."

As the song finished, the boys jumped off the table, after performing the song very similar to something one might see at a Kiss concert. They were pleased to hear laughter ringing throughout the hall.

"And I'd like to present those who made this small concert of ours possible," yelled James," Sirius Black lead air guitar, Remus Lupin, air bass, Peter Pettigrew, drums, and myself, the talented James Potter, lead vocals. And a very special thanks to Lily Evans, the reason for my existence." He added with a grin down towards a blushing Lily. (a/n- sorry about drilling your heads with a description of a Kiss concert, but the inner classic rock fan inside me found its way out)

"Thank you for the entertainment gentlemen." Dumbledore said after he had settled down the students. "Now let's eat." With that food magically appeared on the tables on large golden platters.

"That ball should be interesting eh James?" said Sirius, who had stopped eating (huge shock) to turn to James, "Are you going to ask Lily?"

James turned to a gorgeous Lily, perfection in his eyes, talking to her friends and smiling. "Of course, I'll do it all in good time; I just want to make it special."

"Figures," Sirius laughed and returned to his food.

A/N-  I'd like to thank felton for life my "editor" you might say, for putting up with my punctuation problem and the "Draco incident" hehe and to ilovelucy1289 for all the ideas you gave me, I would still be too scared to write if it wasn't for you.

*please review!* it's my first fanfic so go easy on me, but I want the truth. Thanks.

_~padfoot356*_


	2. chapter 2

Disclaimer- Any thing you don't recognize is mine, the rest belongs to JK Rowling, you know the drill.

~Chapter 2*

"She doesn't know that I love her 

Yes I love her

Make a move on me baby I can't be the one 

Who's always taking chances

See me down so you get down

No you've got me all wrong

I just want to kiss your lips 

And you kiss back…"

-"Stay Away"

Rooney

Lily, still half asleep in her pink, fluffy robe stumbled down the stairs on a cloudy Saturday morning.

"First week down," she thought to herself.

The fire of the Gryffindor common room was roaring as usual, giving off an orange glow that cast over the room, clashing with the red and gold. Lily was always fond of getting up early before the others; she found it was the only time that she could hear herself think. After comfortably settling herself into one of her favourite, plushy chairs set in front of the fire, she cracked open a book and began to read.

"Good practice lads, Slytherin won't stand a chance against us," praised Ayden Thomas, the Gryffindor quiddich captain, well known for his vigorous training methods, as he entered the common room. "Relax until the game, 3 hours and counting!" he added with excitement, breaking the silence. 

The rest of the team soon climbed through the portrait hole behind Ayden with tired looks on their faces.

"Ugh, my whole body hurts, that man is off his rocker. These 5 am practices have got to stop," moaned Sirius, the newly appointed keeper.

"Get used to them, they might seem a little extreme, but they're whipping our team into shape," laughed James.

"The excitement is just dripping off me," added Sirius sarcastically.

"Oh, good morning Lily, you're up rather early," said James, averting his attention away from Sirius and towards the dark red-head sitting by the fire, consumed in a book.

"I've been up this early since first year," she smirked, raising one eyebrow. "You've just never noticed."

"Hmm, well in that case," James began as he pulled out an imaginary note pad and quill. "Note to self: stat getting up earlier."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * 

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to welcome you to the first quiddich game of the year! Slytherin vs. Gryffindor! I'm Aaron Jordan, your commentator for this afternoon," bellowed a 7th year Gryffindor, his voice echoing throughout the outdoor Hogwarts stadium. "Here comes the Gryffindor team now, Thomas, chaser, Fontova, chaser, Kivolchek, chaser, Black, keeper, Cook, beater, Yale, beater, and Potter, seeker! And now the Slytherins, Flint, seeker, Zhang, keeper, Carmine, chaser, Winter, chaser, Locke, chaser, Crabe, beater, Goyle, beater.  Let the games begin!"

Lily, Remus, Peter, Ava, and Grace cheered for their house team from the crowded stands. The whole school usually showed up for the games, cheering for their houses with the Quiddich Cup in mind.

"Now I want a friendly game," Madam Hooch gave the familiar speech to the two team captains, "on my whistle."

"Gryffindor in possession on the quaffle, Thomas to Fontova, back to Thomas, he's speeding down the field, the anticipation grows!!! GOAL FOR GRYFFINDOR! Slytherin takes the quaffle; the goal is blocked by Black, back to Gryffindor, o wait! THAT WAS A FOUL! THAT WAS A FOUL!!!" yelled Aaron.

"Aaron, that's enough." Could be heard in the background from Professor McGonagall, his supervisor you might say.

"Potter sees the snitch, he dives down, and the Slytherin seeker is on his tail. Potter reaches for the snitch, but the Slytherin seeker knocks Potter off his broom! Dirty, cheating, good for nothing…."

"Aaron!!" screamed Professor McGonagall, although a muffled "damn Slytherins" could be heard in the background.

"… but no worries, Potter caught the Snitch! Wait, he isn't getting up."

~*~

"JAMES!!!" Lily screamed from the stands.

Before anyone could stop her, she was running down to the field at full speed; the only thing on her mind was that she had to get to James; nothing could stop her. When she got to the pitch, a group of teachers were already surrounding James.

"We'll have to get him to the hospital wing so Poppy can see to him," she heard Professor Dumbledore telling Professor McGonagall. This was one of the few times she had seen a worried expression on the professor's usually cheerful face. 

Lily managed to push herself through the crowd and was now kneeling down by James.

"Everything's going to be okay," she whispered into his ear. The only reply he could give was a soft moan.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * 

"You're awake, how are you feeling?" asked Lily with a worried tone.

"Where am I?" asked James, ignoring her question.

"The hospital wing, you've been here for a day now."

"Did we win though?"

Lily gave a soft laugh, "You fell 100 feet from the air and the only thing you are worried about is if you won a little quiddich game."

"A LITTLE quiddich game?! Were you oblivious to the fact that it was against Slitherin?"

"No, James, I never quite caught that minor detail," she answered sarcastically. "You don't need to worry, you won, 30 to 160, quite an accomplishment if I do say so myself."

"Have you stayed with me the whole time?"

"Well, I guess you could say that," said Lily, looking down towards her feet to hide a light pink blush that was slowing spreading over her face.

James reached across the bed and tilted up her head with one hand so her green eyes hit his hazel, and held her hand tightly with the other. 

"Thank you, "he told her softly with a gleam in his eyes as a smile broke out across his face. 

"Well, since you're up and all, I guess I should be going," said Lily, suddenly standing up and ruining the moment.

Before James had the chance to respond or even realize what was happening, Lily was walking quickly towards the door.

"Whoa, hey there Lily," said Sirius as he nearly ran into Lily. He was just entering the hospital wing with Remus as she was leaving; Sirius was carrying some kind of cloak in his arms.

"Oh, hi, sorry, I can't talk." She responded without looking the boys in the eye or stopping.

Remus and Sirius made their way over to James's bed, rather confused with the event that just took place.

"What was that all about?" asked Remus suspiciously.

"I'm not entirely sure," answered James, furring his eye brows as if that would help him understand. "She just suddenly walked out."

"_Girls_," stated Sirius, as if that one word was the only answer needed. "Anyways, now that we're over the drama, I brought you this from the dorm." He handed James a silvery material. "I thought you might want to do a little "walking" around the castle tonight or something, these hospitals can get a little on the boring side."

"My invisibility cloak," said James, eyeing the robe that Sirius had handed to him, "I think I'll pay a much needed trip down to the Slytherin common room. If that seeker thought he could get away with knocking me off my broom he's got another thing coming to him."

"I see the old James is back and ready for action," laughed Remus.

"Did you ever think otherwise?" James smirked.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * 

Lily walked into the Gryffindor common room, a little overwhelmed by how intense her emotions were. Did she like James? Should she give him a chance? Why was she so worried about him in the first place? Why did she stay by his side that whole time? All of this was so confusing to her….

"Lily!" yelled a voice, breaking her train of thought. "Where have you been? We haven't seen you since you ran down to the quiddich pitch to see James."

Lily looked up to see the worried faces of Grace and Ava. 

"Oh, umm," she stumbled, her eyes darting across the common room searching for an answer. "Well, you see, I was at the…. library, yea, the library. I wanted to get a head start on that essay for History of Magic; I must of fallen asleep reading." Lily wasn't quite sure why she had lied to her friends; she usually told them everything. What she did know was that the last thing she wanted was for them to think that she had feelings for James. What would they say if they knew she had been with him in the hospital wing the whole night?

Ava tilted her head to one side and looked at her suspiciously. "Ok then," she said slowly. 

"Do you know how long I and the Great Hall have been separated? We're not used to this kind of distance! I'm pining away to nothing!" interrupted Grace, breaking the tension, as she patted her stomach. 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * 

James quietly padded his way out of the hospital wing; his invisibility cloak above him, and the Marauder's Map clutched tightly in his left hand. He had lain awake for hours, checking the map from his bed frequently to make sure everyone was asleep. He quietly closed the door behind him and made his way down to the dungeons, where the Slytherin common room was located. He checked the map one more time just to be careful. He saw two dots moving through one of the long hallways, coming towards him.

"Snape and Malfoy, what are they doing up?" he thought angrily to himself, remembering the incident on the train. The two were just steps away from James, but he stayed where he was to hear what they were saying.

"So Lily Evans is a part of the Dark Lord's prophecy?" he heard Snape asking Malfoy.

"According to my father," Malfoy answered. "He wants me to start telling him Lily's where-abouts, you know, get closer to her, and I definitely don't mind getting closer to Lily Evans," he finished with a smirk.

At this James clenched his fists angrily, ready to tackle Malfoy. Fortunately Professor Dumbledore walked by, as if on queue, that very moment. 

"Severus, Lucis, what are you doing roaming the halls at this hour at night?" questioned Dumbledore; he was fashioning a blue night gown and cap.

"Oh, uhh, we were…"

"Making your way back to the Slytherin dorms if I'm not much mistaken," the professor finished for him, raising his eyebrows and giving the pair a knowing look. Dumbledore stayed there until he saw Snape and Malfoy return to the dungeons. As he began walking back he quietly mumbled while looking straight ahead, "and I suggest you, Mr. Potter, do the same."

"What?!" James thought to himself, "how did he know?! I'm under the cloak; I should be invisible!"

"Some of us have the ability to see things that others cannot," answered Dumbledore, as if reading his mind.

"Yes, sir," floated a voice without its owner. James made his way back to the hospital wing, deliberating ways of slowly torturing Malfoy. There was no way he was going to let Malfoy get near Lily. _His_ Lily.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * 

The next morning James entered the Great Hall, already full of hungry students. Instead of walking over to his friends at the Gryffindor table though, he angrily stormed towards the other side of the hall. The other marauders, Lily, Grace, and Ava saw him enter and stood up suddenly, predicting what was about to happen.

"Get up," James snarled towards Malfoy who was sitting down at the table, his wand tightly held in his hand.

"Is there a problem Potter?" asked Lucius, pulling one of his innocent facades.

"Actually there is," answered James angrily," stay away from Lily; I'm not going to tell you this again."

"Last time I checked, Potter, I could talk to whomever I wanted, and as for Lily, she can make decisions for herself. I have a felling she'll make the right one." Malfoy sneered, referring to himself.

"Ooo, and the gloves are down," joked Sirius from the side. He knew James could take care of himself.

At this remark James was furious, "_Experimelious!" he yelled, directing the spell towards Malfoy. His eye's widened in horror as he watched Lily, who had been running towards the two, stop directly in the path of the spell. He felt his knees weaken as the curse hit her with full force…_

_A/N- that's my version of a cliff, hehe. I hoped you liked the second chapter, I think it's a little longer than the last. Alex, you were in there and I'm sorry Kitty, I know I butchered you name, please forgive me! And thanks for all the editing FeiFei. Lyl._

_~Thanks for all the awesome reviews, it means a lot. Please review this as well if you have the chance. Thanks.*_

_~Padfoot356*_


	3. chapter 3

Disclaimer- I don't own any of these characters except for Ava and Grace, everything else is JK Rowling's. Sounds familiar, eh? ; )   
  
  
~Chapter 3*   
  
  
"I could never really love you simply because simply because   
  
Yes I could never really love you simply because of the trust   
  
You've lost my trust"   
  
- "Simply Because"   
Rooney   
  
  
  
"Lily!" James screamed, rushing over to the limp body on the floor.   
  
"Sod off Potter, I think you've done enough already," jeered Malfoy as he pushed James back and picked up Lily gingerly. He began to make his way towards the hospital wing.   
  
"I never meant-" started James, all the colour drained from his normally optimistic face. He looked over towards his friends for some kind of answer or even just reassuring.   
  
"We know, James," interrupted Sirius with a sympathetic look, "we know."   
  
"I- I have to go see her. I need to explain, I have to apologize."   
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *   
  
  
"I said no Mr. Potter, you aren't getting in there."   
  
"Please, Madam Pomfry, just give me 2 minutes, I need to see Lily."   
  
"No!"   
  
"But you let Malfoy in there!"   
  
"He's an exception."   
  
James would have retaliated, but he didn't think a solid wood door would have put up much of a fight. Instead, he leaned against the wall behind him   
and gave a heavy sigh as he let his body drop down to the floor.   
  
"I'm such an idiot!" James said out loud to himself out of frustration, hitting his head against the wall.   
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *   
  
"How is she doing?" Malfoy asked, hunching over and shoving his hands into his pockets.   
  
"She'll be fine, love. Good as new in no time at all." answered Madam Pomfry as she transferred sterile looking bottles from one cabinet to another. "Look, she's just starting to wake up now."   
  
Malfoy's cold, blue eyes quickly moved from the plump nurse and settled on the stirring figure in the hospital bed. Lily gave a dazed expression at first, but then her eyes slightly widened as if remembering what had happened and why she was there.   
  
"I'll leave you two alone," said Madam Pomfry softly as she slipped out of the room.   
  
"Lily.."   
  
"Yes?"   
  
"There's something I've been wanting to ask you for while now," began Malfoy, almost looking nervous. "Would you. would you go to the Halloween ball with me?"   
  
Lily took in a sharp breath of surprise, this was certainly unexpected. " What about James?" she thought " I guess if he cared that much he would be here right now instead of Lucius. It's like he wants to control me, he can be so immature sometimes. And to think I was actually beginning to trust him."   
  
"Lily? So what do you say, will you go with me?"   
  
She paused for another moment. "Alright," she sighed. "But don't let me regret this," warned Lily as an afterthought with an apprehensive tone.   
  
"You won't," a broad smile broke across his face that seemed rather out of place. "I promise. I should probably get to my classes, I'll see you later."   
  
Malfoy kissed Lily's cheek and walked swiftly towards the door, leaving Lily wondering if she did the right thing.   
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *   
  
  
A few hours later, Lily walked out of the hospital wing very well rested, only to be bombarded by James.   
  
"Lily, I've been trying to speak with you all day."   
  
"Oh really?" replied Lily   
  
"Yes," began James, not catching the sarcastic tone in her voice. " Lily, I'm so sorry, you have no idea how much. I was only trying to protect you.."   
  
"Protect me?! Why would I need to be protected, if anything you are making things worse. I was perfectly fine until you began to "protect" me. Contrary to popular belief, James, I'm a big girl. I'm 16 for Merlin's sake, I can take care of myself!" retorted Lily.   
  
"No, you don't understand, I overheard Malfoy talking the other night and...."   
  
"I don't want to hear another one of your stories, they won't work on me anymore," interrupted Lily, for the second time now. She began to walk away from him, her back stiff and getting more frustrated by the minute.   
  
"Lily! Wait!" pleaded James, but it had no affect on her, she had her mind made up. No matter how much it killed James inside he knew he would have to accept it.   
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *   
  
  
The next weekend was planned for a trip to Hogsmead. Ava, Lily, and Grace were planning on going shopping for their dress robes for the Halloween Ball, while the Marauders had other plans. No trip would be complete for them without practically buying out the contents of Honeydukes and Zonkos.   
  
"James, you're going to have to get over her someday, you can't keep moping around here like Qudditch was suddenly outlawed," Sirius said to James as he, James, Peter, and Remus were walking on their way from Herbology.   
  
"Not that that would stop him," added Peter insightfully.   
  
"Thanks for the encouragement there, Wormtail," shot back Sirius. Peter looked down, suddenly preoccupied with his shoes.   
  
"I suppose," sighed James. "But I really hate to leave things like they were, she just won't forgive me."   
  
"Well that's all you can do, mate," said Remus sympathetically.   
  
"I actually thought I was getting somewhere with her though, I was such an idiot."   
  
"You never actually made it clear why you had that fight with Malfoy in the first place," questioned Sirius. "Is there something you'd like to share with the class, Mr. Potter?"   
  
James recalled what he had heard under the invisibility cloak that night, leaving the other three Marauders in shock. They just couldn't believe that Lily Evans could be connected to Voldermort in any way at all and the fact that Malfoy was tailing her made thing so much more surreal.   
  
"I'm sure that if you told Lily that then she would understand," explained Remus after hearing James.   
  
"You don't think I've tried that?!" said James, running a hand through his already untidy hair. "She just won't hear me out."   
  
"Well there's always Hogsmead this weekend," suggested Sirius.   
  
"I don't think a change of atmosphere would really make her suddenly want to forgive me," sighed James.   
  
"Well you never know, Lily certainly is mysterious," implied Remus.   
  
"Mysterious- yes. Stupid- defiantly not," James said hopelessly.   
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~   
  
  
Ava, Grace, and Lily were all sitting comfortably on Lily's bed in their dorm, discussing the unbelievable events that had taken place that week. Including Lily accepting Malfoy's invitation to the ball.   
  
"So wait," asked Ava again, finding it hard to believe that Lily and Malfoy would be going to the Halloween Ball together. " You and Lucius Malfoy will be enjoying a pleasant evening together on a night that you should be with James?"   
  
"James?!" asked Lily, not believing what had just passed through her ears. "The ignorant marauder that seems that it is his duty to protect me from the world? You have got to be kidding me. I can't stand even looking at him, let alone go to the ball with him."   
  
"I think you're being unreasonable Lily," explained Ava softly. "It was just an accident you know, James has tried to apologize for that so many times, you just won't listen to him."   
  
Lily just rolled her eyes. The truth , even if she didn't want to accept it, was that she wanted to forgive James, but her being angry with him just gave her an excuse to keep him at arm's length. She had this fear of getting close to him, to anyone for that matter, which was why she was always turning down his offers of going out. Because giving into someone and letting them control your feelings, as she had earlier figured out, just gave them the chance to hurt you and throw your whole life off track. And that was the last thing she needed right now, to fall in love with James Potter.   
  
"So Hogsmead this weekend," said Grace, breaking the tension like she usually did. "We'll have to look into Madam Malkin's, I heard she got in a new shipment of dress robes that were to die for."   
  
"Defiantly," added Lily, looking forward to getting her mind off of the drama at Hogwarts and to relaxing at the wizard's village.   
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *   
  
  
The girls bustled into Three Broomsticks with their hands full of shopping bags, they sat themselves down at a table and gave their orders to Madam Rosmerta. They were then engrossed in deep conversation, with the occasional arise of laughter, making the marauders (who were occupying a near by table) extremely interested in what they were discussing. The next thing James saw made his heart race, Ava and Grace left the table, heading towards the wash room, leaving Lily alone sipping on her butterbeer contently.   
  
"Go on Prongs," encouraged Sirius, also seeing the opportunity. "This is your chance."   
  
James stood up and strutted his way over to Lily, a little too cocky then he intended. She rolled her eyes, noticing his sudden advancement towards her. James took a seat across from Lily and gave her one of his mischievous smirks.   
  
"Is there something I can help you with Potter, or did you just have the sudden urge to come over here," she questioned.   
  
"Actually," he began, the smile disappearing from his face. "I came to apologize, and explain what happened in the Great Hall."   
  
"If it will stop you from continuously bugging me, then by all means, go ahead," she sighed in frustration.   
  
"Well, I guess I'll start from the beginning," he began.   
  
"Good choice," Lily interrupted.   
  
James ignored this and kept going. " I over herd Malfoy talking to Snape when I was walking in the halls one night, and he was saying something about you being in Voldermort's prophecy. So Malfoy's father wants him to start reporting your wear abouts to him. I just wanted him to stay away from you Lily, I never meant to hurt you, I would rather go face to face with a rouged hippogriff."   
  
"That was a lovely performance, Potter, but here's the catch. Do you actually think that I would fall for another one of your stories? I find it hard to believe that Malfoy was stalking me, in fact he asked me to the Halloween Ball."   
  
"What?" James asked, shocked. "What did you say?"   
  
"I said yes."   
  
" Why?! Are you thick?! Can't you see that he's trying to get close to you to impress his father?"   
  
"Because unlike you James, Malfoy isn't full of himself, and he doesn't create far fetched stories, but most of all," She paused as if wanting to emphasize her point. "I can trust him." And with that Lily stood up and walked away, leaving James to go over the last words she said.   
  
Ava and Grace walked out of the bathroom, looking rather confused as to why Lily was walking out the door. Their confusion was dissolved though when they saw James sitting at their table looking crestfallen. They quickly walked out the door, interested in what he said that made Lily so mad.   
  
James walked back over to the marauders, they didn't have to ask how it went, his dismal expression said all they needed to know.   
  
"It's hopeless," James finally managed to get out, shaking his head. He felt as if his heart had been torn to shreds by a particularly violent whomping willow. "Hopeless."   
  
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *   
  
a/n: So there it is, chapter 3. Sorry it ended kind of suddenly, but I promise the next chapter will be good, and I'll post it soon. Scouts honour. Lets just say that Lily is given a reason to trust James again, maybe even feel a little more. *wink wink nudge nudge* ; )   
  
Thanks for all the awesome reviews, they mean a lot. Please review this as well if you have the chance! And thanks Fei Fei for getting me out of my writers block, and helping me to get rid of pages 4 through 10. Hehe.   
  
  
Thanks for reading!   
  
~Padfoot356*


	4. chapter 4

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter, that's all property of JK Rowling. Although,   
anything that you don't recognize is mine (Ava, Grace....)   
  
  
~Chapter 4*   
  
"I'm full of regret   
For all things that I've done and said   
And I don't know if it'll ever be ok to show   
My face 'round here   
Sometimes I wonder if I disappear   
  
Would you ever turn your head and look   
See if I'm gone   
Cause I fear   
  
There is nothing left to say to you   
That you wanna hear   
That you know   
I think I should go   
The things I've done are way too shameful"   
- Maroon 5   
"Tangled"   
  
"I cannot BELIEVE James Potter!" fumed Lily as she walked out of Three   
Broomsticks, accompanied by a stiff posture and clenched fists.   
  
"What did he do this time?" questioned Grace from behind, out of breath from   
trying to catch up with Lily. Lily turned around startled, then her face resolved   
back to anger and she stormed forward again, her mind set on getting back to   
the castle.   
  
"He has the nerve to believe that Lucius is using me! I can't believe he would   
make up such an awful story just so I would go out with him," she finally   
answered angrily.   
  
"Maybe he wasn't lying, Lily. Malfoy can be , well, a little out of sorts," said Ava,   
she was never Malfoy's biggest fan.   
  
"You're on his side too?! I can't believe this!" bellowed Lily.   
  
"Lily, we're only trying to help. Why did you have to jump to conclusions? Hear   
James out for a change."   
  
"What the hell do you think I did? I heard him out, and even that was a lie. I can't   
stand him!"   
  
Neither Grace, nor Ava responded to this comment, but Ava muttered something   
that sounded extremely close to, "Nothing like intellectual banter."   
  
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *   
  
The following weeks after the Hogsmead weekend seemed to melt away, with   
Lily and James still avoiding each other at all measures. Everyone seemed to be   
getting of tired of hearing, "Can you tell your friend that..." All was forgotten in   
terms of the blow up between Lily, Ava and Grace though, it seemed to be   
resolved into one of things best left not mentioned. On a particularly cloudy   
October 31st, the Marauders found themselves relaxing in the common room   
after an un usually violent Care of Magical Creatures class.   
  
"Who knew a Dugbog could be so... vicious?" Sirius questioned, rubbing his   
battered ankle. (a/n- I was reading Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them   
and I came across a dugbog, so I put it in here. hehe. It attacks peoples ankles.)   
  
"Quit whining Black, you know you enjoyed it," joked James, not taking his eyes   
away from a faded page in his well used copy of Quidditch Through the Ages.   
  
" Funny ,James, " retorted Sirius. "Right. out. hilarious."   
  
"Anytime, " said James, looking up from his book and giving a lopsided grin,   
leaving Sirius to roll his eyes.   
  
"Where are the girls?" asked Peter, these days they were the only thing on his   
mind.   
  
"Getting ready for the ball," sighed Remus.   
  
"Why so early?" asked Peter in disbelief.   
  
"Ha. I asked the same thing. 'By the time we wash our hair and get into our   
dresses and put on our make up....' " answered James in a high pitched voice.   
  
"Girls." muttered Sirius.   
  
"Amen to that," added James.   
  
~*~   
  
"So Lily, you excited?" questioned Grace as she brushed her long, blonde hair.   
  
"Excited about what exactly?" asked Lily confused. The girls were in their   
dormitory getting ready for the Halloween Ball together. A mass amount of   
shoes, jewelry, and make up sprawled out across the floor, the usual for them.   
  
"Going with Lucius of course, " answered Ava for her, walking out of the   
bathroom and carefully across the "disaster area" that had become their   
bedroom. "Are you getting the butterflies in your stomach?" she added   
dramatically as she plopped down next to Lily on the bed.   
  
"Strangely enough, " began Lily seriously as she shook her head. "No."   
  
~*~   
  
"So are you sure you don't want to go, mate?" Sirius asked James. The   
Marauders were waiting in the common room before the ball, waiting for the   
girls to come down.   
  
"Positive," replied James slowly, as if he really did want to go. "I just think it   
would be uncomfortable, but you guys go, don't worry about me."   
  
"If you're sure...." began Remus, but stopped when he saw three figures   
emerging from the girl's staircase.   
  
Lily, Ava, and Grace began to slowly walk down the staircase and into the   
common room. Grace was wearing pretty deep blue dress robes that made her   
eyes look stunning and her blonde hair up in a simple twist. Ava was in   
cranberry coloured dress robes, her hair elegantly tumbling over her shoulders.   
Lily was wearing bottle green dress robes that made her emerald eyes sparkle,   
half of her hair was pulled back with a crystal crusted clasp and a smile   
occupying her face. James was staring at her longingly, causing Lily to feel a   
pang of guilt in her heart, she was already regretting her acceptation of Lucius's   
offer.   
  
"Well you kids have fun, and don't do anything I wouldn't do," James joked with a   
wink.   
  
"Will you do me the honours?" Sirius asked to Ava, as he offered his arm. Ava   
walked to him and accepted it with a smile. As they walked out of the portrait   
hole he whispered in her ear, "You look beautiful."   
  
Remus directed a charming smile towards Grace and took hold of her hand, the   
pair blushing slightly. As they walked out of the common room Peter followed   
them out, leaving Lily and James alone together.   
  
"You aren't going?" asked Lily timidly, noticing James in his school robes.   
  
"Oh, um, I had allot of homework," mumbled James.   
  
"Oh," frowned Lily looking towards the red carpet. " Well I should probably go..."   
she started, as she walked by James, lightly brushing his shoulder in the   
process, leaving him with a warm tingly feeling consuming his body.   
  
Lily caught up with the others as they were entering the Great Hall, numerous   
Jack-o-Lanterns were hovering in the enchanted ceiling, many tables were   
festively decorated and covered in sweets.   
  
"Would you like to dance, " Remus asked Grace gently. She nodded and they   
walked over to where other couples were shifting their weight to the music. (a/n   
haha Alex "shifting weight")   
  
"Well I better bring Sirius to the food before he wets himself," said Ava as she   
turned to face Lily. Lily laughed, it was true, Sirius had been eyeing the sweets   
since they had walked in. "Will you be okay here alone?" she finished.   
  
"Oh, yeah, you go along, I'll look for Lucius," said Lily dreadingly. Lily's eyes   
darted through the crowd, looking for a shock of blonde hair. She spotted Lucius   
walking towards her.   
  
"You look beautiful," he muttered as he kissed her cheek.   
  
"Thanks," she blushed.   
  
"Do you want to go for a walk?" he asked, gesturing towards to doors leading to   
the fairy lit courtyard outside.   
  
"Alright." Lucius grabbed her hand and led her outside.   
  
~*~   
  
"Bored, bored, bored," James thought to himself. He had been pacing around his   
dorm for the past hour trying to find something to excite him. "Ow!" He had   
tripped over his broomstick that he had forgotten to put away after practice   
*again*. "Ah ha! Quidditch!" With that James grabbed his broomstick and made   
his way out towards the pitch. He sighed as he realized that he would have to   
walk through the courtyard to reach the field. The last thing he wanted to see   
was Lily and Malfoy having a good time at the ball. He darted his way through   
but came to a sudden halt as he recognized some voices coming from the   
bushes.   
  
"Lucius, stop."   
  
"Just relax."   
  
"Get off me!"   
  
"Come on Lily, I'm just trying to have a little fun."   
  
James ran over to where he heard the voices, to his shock he say Malfoy trying   
to snog Lily without much luck. "She told you to stop Malfoy," yelled James as he   
flung Malfoy off of Lily by the collar of his robes.   
  
"Mind your own business Potter."   
  
"I thought I told you to stay away from Lily. You're only doing this to impress your   
father."   
  
"You don't know what your talking about," hissed Malfoy with a look of death in   
his eyes, making it clear that James was right.   
  
"Come on Lily, lets go," said James as he grabbed Lily's hand, giving her just   
enough time to abruptly slap Malfoy across the face.   
  
"Bastard," she said under her breath, fire in her eyes. James led her down to the   
lake, where he finally stopped and looked at her in the eye.   
  
"Are you ok? I swear, I'm going to kill Malfoy."   
  
"I'm fine," lied Lily, tears beginning to form in her eyes. She quickly turned her   
head away from James.   
  
"Don't cry, Lily," he said as he wiped a tear off her cheek and tucked a loose   
strand of hair behind her ear in one swift movement.   
  
"I'm sorry James," she admitted. "You were right, I should have believed you to   
begin with."   
  
"Don't worry about that now," he said as he wrapped her in a hug.   
  
" I should have said yes to you," she whispered into his shoulder. "I should have   
said yes to you a long time ago." James smiled, he had been wanting her to say   
that since he could remember.   
  
"Lily," he began, gently breaking apart from her and grabbing hold of her hands.   
"Will you go out with me?"   
  
A smile broke across Lily's face as she nodded yes.   
  
"You won't regret it," James grinned as he kissed her forehead.   
  
  
  
a/n- I hope you enjoyed it, it took me a while to word things like I wanted without   
it being too cliché. Please review if you have the chance, I love reading them.   
Thanks Alex (it's her that gave me the song at the top) and Kitty. Lyl.  
Thanks for reading!   
~Padfoot356*   
  



	5. chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything related to it, that's all property of JK Rowling, although I do own anything you don't recognize (Ava, Grace...)

~Chapter 5*

"Talking to the songbird yesterday

Flew me to a place not far away

She's a little pilot in my mind

Singing songs of love to pass the time

Gonna write a song so she can see

Give her all the love she gives to me

Talk of better days that have yet to come

I never felt this love from anyone

She's not anyone

She's not anyone

She's not anyone

A man can never dream these kind of things

Especially when she came and spread her wings

Whispered in my ear the things I'd like

Then she flew away into the night

Gonna write a song so she can see

Give her all the love she gives to me

Talk of better days that have yet to come

Never felt this love from anyone

She's not anyone

She's not anyone

She's not anyone"

-Oasis

"Songbird"

James woke up on the first day of November with a yawn, followed by a huge grin the quickly spread over his face. The smile, however, admonished when a gut wrenching thought hit him. What if it was all a dream? Had Lily really said yes to him that night? Had they really shared a passionate and, in his opinion, amazing kiss? Then James heard a teasing voice break his train of thought, and for once in his life he was glad Sirius was so immature.

"Hey Lover boy, do you plan to kiss and tell or will i have to hex it out of you?" Sirius was sitting contently on his four poster bed, obviously waiting for James to wake up and tell him exactly what happened between himself and Lily last night. James reached over to his bedside table, grabbed his glasses, and ran a hand through his shaggy hair in a pathetic attempt to tame it.

"Giving you last nights play by play was the last thing on my itinerary today, Padfoot," James smirked as he crawled out of bed and made his way to the adjacent bathroom, indicating that this conversation would be one sided.

"Come on, James..." whined a pouting Sirius. (a/n: he's so cute when he pouts!!)

"This isn't a girls' slumber party, I'm not telling you anything," James called out from the bathroom, he reappeared with his robes on and made his way towards the door.

"Sharing is caring!" yelled Sirius as the door smacked shut.

James went down the stone steps two at a time. As he entered the common room, his breath caught in his throat at the sight of a shock of deep auburn hair poking from behind a plushy, crimson couch.

~*~

Lily had been relaxing in the common room, adding the finishing touches to her Muggle Studies essay ( "Explain the Postal Service"), when she felt a presence next to her other than her own. She looked up to see a grinning James, reading over her shoulder.

"Good morning," she smiled.

"Good morning," he echoed. "Did you want to come down to breakfast with me?"

"I'd love to ,Mr. Potter," she answered, putting down her parchment and quill and grabbing his offered hand. The pair made their way through the portrait hole and down towards the Great Hall.

~*~

"So i was thinking that if we could get out hands on some troll mucus then-" Peter began, but stopped suddenly, his mouth slightly open.

"Pete?" asked Remus. The two had been discussing their next prank over breakfast when Peter stopped mid- thought. Remus followed Peter's line of vision until he spotted something quite out of the ordinary. Lily and James. Holding hands. or rather Lily letting James hold her hand. 

The rest of the weekend went by fairly uneventful, it was pretty much used to gossip about the Halloween Ball. It didn't take long before the word spread about Lily and James being an "item". Although, tension began to rise during Gryffindor's first double potions lesson of the month with the Slytherins. James, much to his dismay, had been paired with Malfoy and the lesson had gone by silently until...

"Don't think," Malfoy sneered as he add the chopped Mandrake root to the bubbling cauldron. "That you can protect Lily all of the time now that you two are together. The Dark Lord always gets what he wants."

James' eyes narrowed and he began to breathe heavily. He could feel his right fist clench and begin to rise as Professor Cranen piped up,

"Make sure you leave a sample of your bottled potion on my desk, you are dismissed."

"Hey James, almost ready?" questioned Sirius as he packed up his things next to James's cauldron.

"Yea, lets go," James muttered angrily as he hoisted his bag onto his shoulder. The two met the remaining Marauders and the girls outside the dungeons.

"Hey, Beautiful," James said as he grabbed Lily's hand. His mood had dramatically changed at the sight of her.

"Your such a romantic, Jamesie," teased Sirius, punching him playfully on the shoulder. James gave him a look of death and Lily resolved to laughter.

"So what do you say lads, shall we make our way to the common room? If I'm not much mistaken Sirius, you promised me a rematch in Wizards Chess," said Remus.

"You can have as many rematches as you want, but you'll never be able to beat the greatest Wizard's Chess player of all time!" Remus rolled his eyes.

"You guys go ahead, I have to take care of something," said James casually. Lily tilted her head as if she were about to ask what, but se just nodded in understandment.

~*~

James stood questioningly in front of a stone gargoyle statue. He needed to talk to Professor Dumbledore and knew his office was here, but wasn't sure as to how he could get about doing it.

"Can I help you with something Mr. Potter?" asked Professor Dumbledore, walking up behind James.

"Actually, yes, I needed to talk to you about something." Dumbledore nodded and turned to face the gargoyle.

"Sugarquill," the professor said with ease. The gargoyle jumped aside, revealing an elegant spiral staircase. Dumbledore stepped on and James, following his lead, did the same. To his surprise, the staircase began to move upwards. It stopped at a pair of handsome doors, which Dumbledore opened, revealing a circular room, filled with books and telescopes.

"What did you need to speak with me about?" questioned Dumbledore as he gestured to a chair and sat down himself behind a large, mahogany desk.

"This is going to sound odd, but is Lily Evans in a prophecy of some sort?"

"I was wondering when you would ask me. How did you find out about this?"

"I overheard Malfoy and Snape talking that night you caught me under my invisibility cloak."

"Well," began Dumbledore, pausing as if thinking about how he was going to word what he was about to say. "You are correct, Lily Evans is in a prophecy, Lord Voldermort's prophecy to be exact. One that reveals his downfall. My sources tell me that Voldermort recently got his hands on it, but was, fortunately, only able to see a selected part. Although, the part he viewed happened to have Miss Evans in it."

"But Professor, what is the prophecy?"

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches.... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have the power the Dark Lord knows not.... and either must die at the hands of the other for neither can live while the other survives.... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..." Dumbledore quoted solemnly.

"What does Lily have to do with this, though?" asked James, still utterly confused.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord.... is her future son. And as Voldermort sees it, if there is no Lily Evans, there will not be a person to defeat him"

James looked at the Professor in shock. He was waiting for him to raise his arms in amusement and say, "Just kidding!" but it never came, only multiplying the severity of the situation in James's head. Lily was in danger.

"I know this is overwhelming," the professor broke in. "But right now it is very important that you do not share this with anyone, especially Miss Evans. We cannot do anything that might tamper with fate and we're afraid that if she were to find out about the prophecy she would do just that."

"But is she ... safe?"

"She can't be anywhere more secure than inside the walls of Hogwarts. Don't worry, James, she is more than taken care of. Now I suggest you go back to the Gryffindor common room, and remember what we agreed upon, don't breathe a word of this to anyone."

"Yes, sir," James said as he sat up and walked out of Dumbledore's office.

~*~

"Where is he?" thought Lily to herself. She was sitting alone in the common room, the rest of the house had gone to their respected dormitories. Lily, though, couldn't sleep until she knew what James was up to. She had a right to know what her boyfriend was doing. Right?

"James," she sighed as she saw him climb through the portrait hole with a disgruntled look on his face. "What's wrong, what happened?" she asked, gingerly placing a hand on his forearm.

James grabbed her hands and led her to the couch where they sat down.

"James?" Lily asked again, now worried herself.

"I can't tell you what happened, but just promise me something, ok?"

"Ok.." she said slowly.

"Don't wander into any dark alleys," he said seriously, but as if it was the only the only sentence he could string together at the moment.

"You have my word," Lily laughed. James smiled and gave her a soft kiss. "well, I'm going to bed, I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Beautiful," James smirked.

"Goodnight," Lily repeated softly and floated up the girls staircase towards her dorm.

a/n: I wasn't entirely sure where to end this chapter, but i hope you liked what I decided on. I'm writing chapter 6 , I'll hopefully get it up soon.. too much homework!! grr!. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, they're what keeps me writing. Please review this if you have the chance. Thanks.

~Padfoot356*


	6. chapter 6

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all rights to Harry Potter and everything related to it. However, I own the original characters (Ava and Grace).

~Chapter 6*

"So come on let me see  
I say baby you are amazing  
I want to let you see  
that you are everything and more to me  
I will let you be I will I will  
Cause I saw you walking down the hall  
and I had a lot to tell you  
but I didn't think you could say it better oh baby"

-"Amazing"

  Josh Kelly

~ * ~ * ~  * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  ~ * ~ * ~ *

"Let's go gentlemen, the game starts in ten minutes," said an annoyed and (even though he would never admit it) quite nervous Ayden. He was a firm believer in "staying strong for the team" which in his eyes certainly didn't leave room for being nervous. The Gryffindor Quidditch team had a match that morning against Ravenclaw, who appeared to be doing quite well this season. The last thing Gryffindor needed was to lose this game and be out of the running for the Quidditch Cup, putting a lot of pressure on the team.

"Well good luck," said Lily, giving James a quick kiss before pushing him in an attempt to make him leave the Great Hall.

"Oh believe me, Lily, we don't need it," smirked James, dripping with confidence.

"Well putting into consideration the fact that it will be _extremely_ easy for you to fly due to the amount of hot air filling your head at the moment, I don't think you're going to need any luck either."

"I knew you would understand," said James draping an arm around Lily's shoulders.

"Hey! Don't I get a good luck kiss?" questioned Sirius, his question was up for anyone, but obviously directed towards Ava.

"I think I'll pass on that one actually," said Ava.

"Oh that hurts, it really does," said Sirius, putting a hand over his heart as James began to pull him away at the simultaneous call of, "EIGHT MINUTES!" from Ayden.

"Until then my fair, Ava," shouted Sirius as the doors of the Great Hall closed. Lily raised an eyebrow to Ava who just shrugged.

~ * ~ *

"Well here's to another Gryffindor victory!" called out Sirius as the team entered the locker room.

"There's no way we can lose the Cup. No way," said James from behind him, broom perched on top of his shoulder. James and Sirius made their way to the back of the locker room.

"You remembered about tonight right?" asked James under his breath and he fiddled with his Quidditch robes.

"Wouldn't miss it for all the butterbeer in the world," answered Sirius.

"Ha, right."

~ * ~

A few hours later James, Sirius and Peter found themselves crowded under James's invisibility cloak, cautiously stalking through the empty Hogwarts halls. As they reached one of the windows Sirius paused to take a quick glance at the Marauder's Map, illuminated by the full moon outside. They made their way out of the castle, through the gardens, past the gamekeeper's hut and the greenhouses, finally coming to a halt in front of the Whomping Willow.

"I reckon Remus has transformed by now," James thought out loud. "Peter, you should go ahead."

Peter nodded and briefly closed his eyes. He began a metamorphosis, his body cowering down, his ears enlarging, a long tail protruding from his bottom. The rat dodged through the swinging branches of the willow and hit a knob on its trunk. Instantly the tree froze. Making sure that no one was in sight, James and Sirius took this as a signal to transform themselves. Sirius took to the form of a shaggy, black dog, while James's body distorted into that of a stag. The two animals followed the rat through a door hidden in the tree and darted through the tunnel beneath it. They came to a clearing, revealing the inside of a destroyed house and their first look of Remus in his werewolf form of the night.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Well Sirius, we better go and take care of those… uh… errands," said James as he drained his mug of butterbeer. The Marauders (excluding Remus who was in the hospital wing and Peter who was Merlin knows where these days) and Ava, Lily, and Grace were all sitting in a booth in the festively decorated Three Broomsticks. The multiple tankards of butterbeer seemed to be the only thing keeping the boys awake after last night's rendezvous.

"Errands?" asked Sirius looking genuinely baffled. James widened his eyes and stared at Sirius as if trying to get him to catch his hint. "Oooooh, _errands. _Right you are," Sirius said as he stood up and tossed a few sickles onto the table.

"We'll catch up with you later," said James as he and Sirius began to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?" questioned Grace.

"Errands," replied James simply.

"Errands?"

"Yes, we're looking into a mail order bride for our Jamsie here, the paperwork is almost complete," said Sirius.

"I love you too," Lily said sarcastically. James winked at her with a grin.

James and Sirius walked through the pub and pushed open the Christmas wreath adorned door leading out to the snow covered streets of Hogsmead.

"_Annnyways_," said Ava as the door closed with a gust of chilly wind, "Where are you two going for Christmas holidays?"

"I'm going home to Liverpool, my parents have this thing about '_being together on the holidays as a family'_," Grace imitated in a nasal voice.

"What about you?" asked Ava, facing Lily.

"Actually, I was thinking of staying at Hogwarts for the holidays. I REALLY don't want to spend three weeks with Petunia and her new pet Vernon." She shuddered at the thought of spending every waking moment listening to those two whisper nauseating sweet nothings into each other's ears. "If I went home I'd be spending most of my time plotting ways to jump off the balcony unnoticed. Where will you be?"

"Hogwarts too, my parents are going to Switzerland for the holidays. Tagging along on their latest journey of 'finding themselves' doesn't really appeal to me," Ava answered honestly. Lily laughed at the thought of Ava's parents. They had been trying to 'find themselves' ever since Lily met Ava when she was six. They seemed to her like the kind of people to first try out a fad diet or go backpacking through Europe because its, "Youthful and upbeat, sweetheart."

"Well it won't be that bad. You and I are both staying and so is James. And I'm almost positive Sirius will be staying too, he likes to spend as much time as possible away from the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black," Lily said.

"Sirius?"

"I knew it!" said Lily triumphantly.

"Knew what exactly?"

"You fancy Sirius!"

"Pssh. Me? Sirius? Defiantly not."

"Right Ava, and I suppose that's why you had a sudden interest when I said his name?"

"I'm just not keen on the fact of spending two weeks with that prat constantly boasting about one thing or another or following me around saying, _'You know what they say about a guy with a nice broomstick'_. He's positively hopeless."

"MmmHmm," mumbled Lily as she took a big gulp of her drink.

~ * ~ 

The bell on the door softly tinkled, announcing Sirius and James' entrance to Madame Moreno's Fine Jewelry.

"Welcome, welcome! I'm Madame Moreno, what can I help you fine gentlemen with this afternoon?" cooed Madame Moreno. She was a plump middle-aged woman with wispy blonde hair and a beaming smile. Her cheeks flushed as she waved heavily decorated hands in enthusiasm. Sirius looked over to James who suddenly seemed to come to his senses and say,

"Oh, um. I'm looking for a gift. A Christmas gift actually."

"For whom exactly?" questioned Madame Moreno flirtatiously. 

"My girlfriend."

"I think I know just what you're looking for," Madame Moreno beamed. "Something simple, yet elegant. Not to showy, but thoughtful at the same time. Am I correct?" she asked as she waltzed over to a nearby display counter, her rose coloured robes billowing behind her.

"Your good." Said James impressed.

"Well it is my job," she giggled. Sirius turned to James and raised an eyebrow. James stifled a laugh and followed the lady to the other side of the store. He glanced down into the display when his attention was caught on a small bracelet. It was silver and thin with a single charm of a lily encrusted with diamonds dangling off of it. 

"This is the one," he said pointing to the bracelet. Sirius leaned to get a better view and nodded his head in agreement. 

"I'll wrap this up for you," Madame Moreno smiled.

~*~

James and Sirius walked out of the store and back towards the entrance of Three Broomsticks were they had agreed to meet the girls. 

"That Madame Moreno was nutters! I think she fancied you Prongs," said Sirius.

"Well I do attract the ladies."

"You wish." Sirius sighed as James laughed.

"I'm surprised you didn't buy anything for Ava while we were in there."

"Ava? She wouldn't fall for something like that she's too… classy. Jewelry wouldn't bribe her into going out with me. She isn't like any of the other girls I've known in the past."

"That's an understatement." 

"Ha. Yea."

~*~

Lily saw James walking up the street with Sirius just as he was tucking a green bag under his coat. _Errands_. 

"Hey," she said as James approached, put an arm around her waist and lightly kissed the top of her snow-dusted head.

"So do you want to just head back? I can't think of anything else to do," said Ava looking round for an answer. 

"I can think of plen-" began Sirius.

"Don't even _think_ about finishing that sentence Black," interrupted Ava.

"As you wish." (a/n: The Princess Bride!!!!)

"Sure, we can go," said Grace.

~ * ~ *  ~ *  ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  ~ *  ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ 

The next few weeks seemed to slip by slowly. Every student seemed to be counting down the days until Christmas holidays. After what seemed like forever Sirius, James, Lily, and Ava were saying goodbye to the rest of their friends who would be going home for the holidays.

"Owl me and have a good time," Lily said as she hugged Grace.

"I will, no worries."

"No worries," Lily repeated with a smile.

"Do you want to go back to the common room?" James asked Lily as they saw Remus leave.

"Sure," said Lily. She turned to Ava and Sirius. "Are you guys coming?"

"Nah, Sirius is proving to me that he can get me into the kitchens," sighed Ava.

"I can!" prompted Sirius.

"And I never thought of thinking otherwise."

"Ha. Ok," said Lily as she walked off. "I'll see you two later."

"I wish those two would just get together and get it over with," sighed Lily as she and James rounded the corner towards the common room.

"I know what you mean," James replied.

"Ava is just so stubborn."

"It'll all happen eventually."

"I suppose you're right," Lily said. "But until then you could always give me my Christmas gift!"

James laughed and looked at his girlfriend lovingly. Ever since she saw the green bag at Hogsmeade she had been pestering James about it. 

"You'll just have to wait."

"_Pleeeeeeeease_?" Lily asked as she batted her eyelashes innocently.

"Cute, but no," James laughed as he pulled Lily closer to him.

"Fine, fine. I see how it is."

"Oh really? And how is it?"

"Um. How bout I get back to you on that."

"That's what I thought," said James as he crawled through the portrait hole.

~ * ~ *  ~ *  ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * 

"James! Wake up!" Sirius yelled into his roommate's ear.

"What?! What happened? What's wrong?" James woke up startled.

"IT'S CHRISTMAS!"

"Haha. Lets go Padfoot."

The two boys stumbled down the stairs to the sight of a glowing Christmas tree adorned with many colourful presents at the bottom. Sitting on one of the couches was Ava and Lily.

"Happy Christmas," Lily yawned as she saw Sirius and James coming downstairs.

"Happy Christmas," James echoed.

"You beat us!" Sirius said with an unbelieving tone.

"That's right Black, we beat you," smiled Ava as she reached for a present with her name neatly printed on the front.

An hour later the floor was littered with different coloured wrapping paper and bows. Lily and James were sitting on the couch together while Ava and Sirius were quarreling over a piece of peppermint stick.

"What's wrong?" James asked as a look of disappointment spread across Lily's face.

"Nothing," she said looking up to him and forcing a smile. What was really on her mind was the fact that James hadn't given her a gift. Which made her think whom the item in the green bag was for. Obviously not her.

"Oh that reminds me!" said James suddenly as he stood up. "I forgot something in my dorm. Can you come up and help me find it?"

"Sure," Lily said, not really listening to what he said, but grabbing his offered hand anyways. He led Lily up the boy's staircase and into his dorm. Lily sat on his bed and looked around. The floor was covered in school robes and broomstick catalogues and in the midst of it was James digging around.

"Ah ha!" he said triumphantly, holding a shiny red parcel in the air. The display caught Lily's attention and a broad smile filled up her face. James walked over to her and sat down on his bed.

"You didn't think I had forgotten did you?" he asked.

"The thought never crossed my mind," she said blushing slightly. James handed her the gift and she slowly unwrapped it. She revealed a velvet jewelry box and gently opened the top. Inside was the silver bracelet, Lily's face lit up when she saw it. "Oh, James," she gasped.

"Do you like it?"

"It's amazing. Thank you," he said as she gave him a kiss.

"Lily?"

"Yes?" Lily answered still admiring the bracelet.

"I have to tell you something, and I've been holding it off until now, but…."

"What is it?" Lily asked, now looking up questioningly.

"I love you." James said with a smile as if he had wanted to tell her that ever since he first laid eyes on her (which he had).

Lily smiled up at him. "I love you too, James."

A/n: Ta da! I hope you liked it. I had fun writing it. Now if only I had a James Potter…*sighs*. Hehe. Thank you everyone for all of the reviews! They're great! Special thanks to my betas, I love you guys!


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